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Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with Timothy O'Sullivan, America's Most Mysterious War Photographer
Win a free print copy of this book!
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10 copies available
U.S. only
A personal exploration of the American West and the work of one of America’s greatest photographers.
Timothy O’Sullivan is America’s most famous war photographer. You know his work even if you don’t know his A Harvest of Death , taken at Gettysburg, is an icon of the Civil War. He was also among the first photographers to elevate what was then a trade to the status of fine art. The images of the American West he made after the war, while traveling with the surveys led by Clarence King and George Wheeler, display a prescient awareness of what photography would become; years later, Ansel Adams would declare his work “surrealistic and disturbing.”
At the same time, we know very little about O’Sullivan himself. Nor do we know―really know―much more about the landscapes he captured. Robert Sullivan’s Double Exposure sets off in pursuit of these two enigmas. This book documents the author’s own road trip across the West in search of the places, many long forgotten or paved over, that O’Sullivan pictured. It also stages a reckoning with how the changes wrought on the land were already under way in the 1860s and '70s, and how these changes were a continuation of the Civil War by other means. Sullivan, known for his probing investigations of place in the pages of The New Yorker and books like Rats and My American Revolution , has produced a work that, like O’Sullivan’s magisterial photos of geysers and hot springs, exposes a fissure in the American landscape itself.
Timothy O’Sullivan is America’s most famous war photographer. You know his work even if you don’t know his A Harvest of Death , taken at Gettysburg, is an icon of the Civil War. He was also among the first photographers to elevate what was then a trade to the status of fine art. The images of the American West he made after the war, while traveling with the surveys led by Clarence King and George Wheeler, display a prescient awareness of what photography would become; years later, Ansel Adams would declare his work “surrealistic and disturbing.”
At the same time, we know very little about O’Sullivan himself. Nor do we know―really know―much more about the landscapes he captured. Robert Sullivan’s Double Exposure sets off in pursuit of these two enigmas. This book documents the author’s own road trip across the West in search of the places, many long forgotten or paved over, that O’Sullivan pictured. It also stages a reckoning with how the changes wrought on the land were already under way in the 1860s and '70s, and how these changes were a continuation of the Civil War by other means. Sullivan, known for his probing investigations of place in the pages of The New Yorker and books like Rats and My American Revolution , has produced a work that, like O’Sullivan’s magisterial photos of geysers and hot springs, exposes a fissure in the American landscape itself.
- GenresPhotographyHistory
448 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 23, 2024
About the author
Robert Sullivan
93 books65 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Robert Sullivan is the author of Rats, The Meadowlands, A Whale Hunt, and most recently, The Thoreau You Don’t Know. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York magazine, A Public Space, and Vogue, where he is a contributing editor. He was born in Manhattan and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...
Robert Sullivan is the author of Rats, The Meadowlands, A Whale Hunt, and most recently, The Thoreau You Don’t Know. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York magazine, A Public Space, and Vogue, where he is a contributing editor. He was born in Manhattan and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/robert...
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February 27, 2024An excellent book - thoroughly researched and very enjoyable.
As a photographer, I found the historical details about the technical challenges faced by O'Sullivan, trying to capture even a single image during that era, incredibly interesting and insightful. Carrying all that equipment in a wagon, no less! Learning about the historical context of the surveyed areas was a further plus.
The author examined the enigmatic life of O'Sullivan, uncovering how he might have captured the landscapes and towns during his expeditions. I found that there were many thoughtful reflections on the historical and cultural significance of the period, and this, of course, led me to slow way down in my reading. If I'm given a very strong narrative and/or 'picture' to imagine, I need to sit with it awhile before continuing... It's one of those kinds of books.
If you, like me, love learning about the history of the American West, enjoy photography, or introspective travel writing, "Double Exposure" is a must-read. I enjoyed the book very much. Five stars plus. (I'd love to have it on Audible as well!) Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!
As a photographer, I found the historical details about the technical challenges faced by O'Sullivan, trying to capture even a single image during that era, incredibly interesting and insightful. Carrying all that equipment in a wagon, no less! Learning about the historical context of the surveyed areas was a further plus.
The author examined the enigmatic life of O'Sullivan, uncovering how he might have captured the landscapes and towns during his expeditions. I found that there were many thoughtful reflections on the historical and cultural significance of the period, and this, of course, led me to slow way down in my reading. If I'm given a very strong narrative and/or 'picture' to imagine, I need to sit with it awhile before continuing... It's one of those kinds of books.
If you, like me, love learning about the history of the American West, enjoy photography, or introspective travel writing, "Double Exposure" is a must-read. I enjoyed the book very much. Five stars plus. (I'd love to have it on Audible as well!) Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!
Displaying 1 of 1 review